Muhammad Yahya Cheema 112 Orestes‟ Quest for Personal Identity in Sartre‟s The Flies Muhammad Yahya Cheema ABSTRACT This research paper ventures to show that Sartre‟s The Flies, unlike other modern renderings of the play, depends, thematically and structurally, upon the choices that Orestes makes. Sartre‟s Orestes is a lost prince in search of his own identity. The play starts with Orestes‟ quest to find his true self and ends on his existential decision of defiance and sacrifice. The title „guilt -stealer‟ is taken from the t ext of the play itself (“...Supposing I take over all their crimes. Supposing I set out to win the name of “guilt -stealer”, and heap on myself all their remorse...”) and signifies the decision- making powers of Orestes, an attribute not associated with the Greek Hero‟s character in perhaps any other version of the myth.